Women's rights advocates were shocked when Turkey's President Erdogan announced unilaterally that Turkey would withdraw from the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. Since the Convention was drafted in Istanbul, Turkey, and Turkey was the first country to sign it, it became known as the Istanbul Convention. A leaflet produced by the...

NGO CSW65 Forum Events

NGO CSW NY Consultation Day   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eitqt75dw9w&t=16s

NGO CSW Geneva Consultation Day (Laurie Richardson's presentation about NGO CSW Vienna starts at 40:44)

Femicide Hotspot Germany: Let's Break the Structural Pattern!

(FAWCO co-sponsored with Femicide Observation Center Germany and FEMEN Germany)

https://ngocsw65forum.us2.pathable.com/meetings/virtual/g64npsa9GQ34mxLeS

North America and Europe CSW Caucus Meeting   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPs3xB6TWZQ

Beijing – COVID – What Next? (Organizer:

By Maggie Palu (AW Aquitaine)

This has been a labor of love, and fairly time-consuming, because I’ve been watching some of the sessions again. Here are some links to recordings of meetings that I “attended" virtually. 

Enhancing police and justice responses to gender-based violence against women: new tools and emerging challenges in times of the pandemic

Organizer: United Nations Office...

The 65th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) came to a close on March 26 after pushback from regressive governments caused negotiations to stretch into the final day. The CSW65 Agreed Conclusions were adopted at the eleventh hour after a marathon of difficult negotiations. You can watch the Closing Session and hear Member States' statements...

In his address at the opening of CSW65 on March 15, 2021, Secretary-General António Guterres said that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown how deeply embedded gender inequality is in the world’s political, social and economic systems. The UN chief noted that women work in jobs that have been hard hit by the pandemic, and that women’s and girls’ unpaid care...

By Heather Halbach, AWC Berlin

I am humbled and immensely grateful for my experience at CSW65. Watching COVID tear through the world with such devastation, ripping bare the inequality in our societies and breeding much fear was a source of personal pain over the past year, but witnessing so many compassionate, wise, dedicated and powerful people come together to advocate...

By Christine Humphreys, AW Surrey

Women are now practising new freedoms in Saudi Arabia. Traditionally draped in their  hijabs, Saudi women’s rights have been limited as compared to its neighbouring countries. 

At an Arab women’s event at the CSW62 in New York, I took the empty seat next to a Saudi  participant who introduced himself as a journalist. I had...

By Maggie Palu, AWAquitaine

Some notes from the parallel event: "We Have Your Back" (co-sponsored by FAWCO)

Lucina di Meco – “If you are not at the table, you are on the menu.”  (re digital and on-line abuse) (trolling)

Social media = a barrier to seeking public office

Chris Segona – League of Women Voters US – “What is not...

Turkey Anulls the Istanbul Convention 

On March 20, in the middle of CSW65, the Turkish government annulled the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (known as the Istanbul Convention - ironically) by a decree signed by Turkish President Erdogan.  

The Istanbul Convention is based on CEDAW and other human rights treaties of the...

by Liz MacNiven, AIWC Cologne

I have always thought that one of the benefits of being a member of FAWCO, and one thing that sets us apart from other groups I have been involved with, is our relationship with the UN. In previous years I have shied away from being part of the CSW delegation, mainly due to the expense...